Slave trade ship, shows the terrible conditions Africans had to face
Slave trade ship, shows the terrible conditions Africans had to face



The Atlantic Slave Trade
MI: The Portuguese colonization spread down to Africa where they set up ports and factories the contributed to the blooming trade with the Americas.
  • Factories: areas where merchants live of forts and trading posts; example El Mina(1482) – main gold production region of the forest zone
  • during the time forts where given rulers where they have enforce power to decrease the amount of raids
  • The Portuguese gain goods from the Africans such as ivory, pepper, animal skins, gold, and slaves and in return the Portuguese would give the Africans goods
  • Main ports such as El Mina and Accra had routes that traded directly with gold where it led to the interactions with the merchants from Mali and Songhay
  • However trading with the Portuguese and Africans was not always a friendly relation; African small states found them suspicious
  • Nzinga Mvemba: Kongo ruler and Portuguese advisers and missionaries work together to convert the whole kingdom to Christianity ; although the relations cause Mvemba work to try and end slave trade => partially successful
  • With the increase of Portuguese soldiers and traders on African land, Africans began to incorporate them into their ideals on the spiritual world => Portuguese soldiers appearing in statues
  • Luanda: Portuguese factory created off of the Cape of Good Hope where it became the basis for the Portuguese colony of Angola
  • Around the coast Africa, ports where forming where gold trade was increasing as well as missionary work;
  • major products of trade: gold, pepper, slave
  • slaves were used by the Portuguese and Spanish to develop sugar plantations in the Americas

Trend Toward Expansion
MI: The constant trade of Slave trade created a cycle where people was focused on the idea of slave mortality.
  • However fertility from the slaves were low because when slaves are imported usually the percent of men were higher compared to women
  • to keep the population of slaves high there was a demand for constant imports of slaves
  • slave trade change the concentration of the population
  • because of slave trade it also cause wars between Dahomey and Benin
Demographic Patterns
MI: The difference between trans-Saharan slave trade and the Atlantic slave trade was the demographic patterns taken place.
  • Trans-Saharan: consists of women were they are used as concubines and servants where as Atlantic slave trade consist of men to work as planters and mine owners
  • Atlantic slave trade created an impact of new plantations and crops that help recovered from losses to the slave trade
Organization of the Trade
MI: Slave trade became so important to the economy of the Europeans where slaves was profitable to create a more prospering economy.
  • Companies were excited for the use of slaves to create a growing colonies such as Royal African Company
  • Europeans were creating merchant towns or trade forts with slaves they take
  • Indies pieces: was a system created by a Spaniard that children and women were priced at fraction of the value
  • slaves became such a monopoly over trade rules and restrictions had to be made
  • triangular trade -
    America – Europe : sugar, tobacco and other goods Europe, America, African created this triangle of trade
  • slave trade from Africa created this connection to the rest of the world of this complex economy African Societies, Slavery, and the Slave TradeMI: Europeans justify the idea of slave trade, because the people in Africa was already partaking in enslaving their own.
    • African society: slaves were consider a form servants to work as servants concubines, soldiers, administrators, field workers ; slaves were use to pay tribute; slaves was a extension for the family system ; used for mining and salt production
    • slaves was so commonly use in African societies it was those to believe the excess amount of women lead to polygamy
    • slavery not saw as a wrong doing towards Muslims




Slaving and African Politics
  • MI: African societies expansion cause constant wars within the continent that encourage the importance of military and power.
    • Between 1500 & 1750 Europe was taking over Sub-Saharan Africa that cause a period of instability; constant competition
    • African politics => increase of slavery
    • presence of Europeans change the way of ruling where larger states would take over smaller states for gold
    • with the rising fear of African states being able to take over Europe, Europe sent European goods over to Africa to expand their influence
Asante and Dahomey
  • MI: As bad as slave trade sounds, it did have good results on some of the the areas in West Africa such as Empire Asante and Kingdom Dahomey.
    • Empire Asante: rose during the period of slave trade. Originated from the members of Akan people who settle on gold and kola nut areas. Contains 20 small states based on clans
    • Osei Tutu vigorous ruler who took title asantehene who created the supreme civil and religious leader
    • because of the ruler he change the ruling and united the clans
    • Kingdom of Dahomey: Originated from the members of Fon people; ruled by king that have powerful advisers; as the kingdom expansion towards the coast the kingdom attracted European traders
    • Expansion cause the decrease of royal families and customs of the areas
    • slave trade changed the power of ruling; kings & advisers → divine authority
    • arts of African societies: bronze castings, woodcarving, and weaving; artisans guilds are being established; architecture art increasing
    • Europeans have come to accepted African arts where it help influences some increase throughout Renaissance Europe
East Africa and the Sudan
  • MI: When West Africa was prospering from trade with the Europeans, Eastern Africa gain most of its influence from the Muslim trade.
    • Eastern Europe was at constant trade with the Muslims and Ottomans
    • slaves in the Middle East was use as harems and households
    • areas around the coast had a growing population of Slavery for plantations and mining
    • Luo people was resulted from the created of related dynasties; did exercise some about of power
    • Islamization was spreading and it began a violent stage connected to growth of Slavery
    • Movement of religious leaders of the Subi created an impact of the Fublani, a pastoral people
    • Expansion of the area was going strong because of the Islamization where they were trying to eliminate pagan practices and an increase of pagan practices
    • slaves increase along with trade route increase
White Settlers and Africans
MI: Along the south coast of Africa, the people there was little affected by the slave trade going on, on the rest of the continent.
  • the people at the time was occupied by Bushmen, Khoikhoi people where they where hunting and gathering type of people around the 3rd century
  • the people where thought to have been migrated from the fertile land
  • by 16th century ,the spoke Bantu; the people occupied most of Southern Africa
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